Two ex-Bell ExpressVu executives have filed a civil lawsuit claiming gender discrimination at their old workplace.

The ladies claim they worked in a macho company culture that included sexist, vulgar language, being left out of drinking sessions with the boys and a war-themed corporate retreat.

Shortly after the retreat the women were both fired, and they are now battling with their ex-employer.

The allegations of gender discrimination at Bell have not been proven, but the lawsuit brings to the fore-front the hostile environment women sometimes find at the top of the corporate ladder.

At Bell 17.7 per cent of the senior managers were women in 2006. That number is down from 24 per cent in 2005 and 25 per cent in 2004.

Top female managers are hard to find anywhere in the business world not just at Bell.

Results from the annual Rosenzweig Report on Women at the Top Levels of Corporate Canada were just released. The report shows a 16 per cent drop in the number of women holding top executive jobs in Canada. Thirty women now hold top executive jobs in 100 of Canada’s largest publicly-traded companies, that’s down from 37 last year.

“This drop is disheartening and makes you wonder if anything is really going to change over the next 10 years, or even longer,” said Jay Rosenzweig, Managing Partner of Rosenzweig & Company, in the press release. “Is the glass ceiling impenetrable in Canada?”

Now, we all know glass isn't indestructible, but it may be time to stop knocking and pick up a hammer.